Russia's military casualties top 1 million in 3-year-old war, Ukraine
says
[June 13, 2025]
By ILLIA NOVIKOV
KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — The number of Russian troops killed or wounded in
Ukraine has topped 1 million, military officials in Kyiv said Thursday,
describing the huge price that Moscow has paid for its 3-year-old
invasion.
The claim by the General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces, which came
on a holiday celebrating Russia's sovereignty, is in line with Western
intelligence estimates.
President Vladimir Putin marked Russia Day by hosting a Kremlin meeting
with soldiers decorated for their service in Ukraine, but neither he nor
any other officials commented on the Ukrainian claim.
The U.K. Defense Ministry also said in a statement posted Thursday on X
that Russia has suffered over 1 million casualties, including roughly
250,000 killed since it launched the full-scale invasion on Feb. 24,
2022.
On June 3, the Center for Strategic and International Studies in
Washington said Russia likely would hit the mark of 1 million casualties
this summer in what it called “a stunning and grisly milestone.”
Russia last reported its military casualties early in the war when it
acknowledged that about 6,000 soldiers had been killed. Earlier this
year, the General Staff of the Russian armed forces claimed that
Ukrainian military losses had topped 1 million.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last spoke of Ukrainian military
losses in February, when he said in an interview that 45,100 troops had
been killed and about 390,000 injured.
The mutual claims of the other side’s losses couldn’t be independently
verified.
Russia launches more drone strikes
The casualty estimates came as Russian forces pummeled Ukraine with
drones and other weapons, killing three people and injuring scores of
others despite international pressure to accept a ceasefire.
According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched 63 drones and
decoys at Ukraine overnight. It said that air defenses destroyed 28
drones while another 21 were jammed.
Ukrainian police said two people were killed and six were injured in the
past 24 hours in the eastern Donetsk region, the focus of the Russian
offensive. One person was killed and 14 others were also injured in the
southern Kherson region, which is partly occupied by Russian forces,
police said.
The authorities in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, said 18
people, including four children, were injured by Russian drone attacks
overnight.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said Russian drones targeted residential
districts, educational facilities, kindergartens and other civilian
infrastructure.
“Kharkiv is holding on. People are alive. And that is the most important
thing,” Terekhov said.
Russia has launched waves of drones and missiles in recent days, with a
record bombardment of almost 500 drones on Monday and a wave of 315
drones and seven missiles overnight on Tuesday.
Ukraine responded to the Russian attacks with drone raids. Russia’s
Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 52 Ukrainian drones early
Thursday, including 41 over the Belgorod region that borders Ukraine.
Regional Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said a 2-year-old boy was killed
Thursday in a Ukrainian drone attack, which also injured his
grandmother. He previously reported three other injuries.
Russia pushes its slow offensive in Ukraine's east
The recent escalation in aerial attacks has come alongside a renewed
Russian battlefield push along eastern and northeastern parts of the
more than 1,000-kilometer (over 600-mile) front line.
While Russian missile and drone barrage have struck regions all across
Ukraine, regions along the front line have faced daily Russian attacks
with short-range exploding drones and glide bombs.
[to top of second column]
|
Soldiers of Ukraine's 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade fire a rocket
toward Russian positions at the front line in the Donetsk region of
Ukraine on Tuesday, June 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Andrii Marienko, File)
On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed its troops
captured two more villages in the Donetsk region, Oleksiivka and
Petrivske. The Ukrainian military had no immediate comment on the
Russian claim.
The attacks have continued despite discussions of a potential
ceasefire in the war. During their June 2 talks in Istanbul, Russian
and Ukrainian negotiators traded memorandums containing sharply
divergent conditions that both sides see as nonstarters, making a
quick deal unlikely.
Russia and Ukraine exchange more POWs
The only tangible outcome of the talks was an agreement to exchange
prisoners of war and the bodies of fallen soldiers.
Russia and Ukraine conducted another POW swap on Thursday that
included severely wounded and gravely ill captives, although the
sides did not report the numbers.
“Our people are coming home,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on
Telegram. “All of them require medical treatment, and they will
receive the necessary help. This is already the second stage of
returning those who are severely wounded and seriously ill.”
According to Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets, some
of the repatriated soldiers had been listed as missing in action.
The oldest among them is 59, the youngest is 22, he said.
Oksana Nepotribna, mother of one of the released Ukrainian soldiers,
said he was in captivity for a year. “We were really waiting for
him, we thank everyone who freed him,” she said.
NATO chief hails Trump's peace efforts
In Rome, NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte commended U.S. President
Donald Trump for his “crucial” move to start direct peace talks.
At the same time, Rutte criticized Putin for appointing his aide
Vladimir Medinsky as the top negotiator for the talks in Istanbul.
Medinsky ascended through the Kremlin ranks after writing a series
of books exposing purported Western plots against Russia and
denigrating Ukraine.
“I think that the Russians sending this historian now twice to these
talks in Istanbul, trying to start with the history of 1,000 years
ago and then explaining more or less that Ukraine is at fault here,
I think that’s not helpful,” Rutte said. “But at least step by step,
we try to make progress.”
Also on Thursday, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius arrived in
Kyiv on an unannounced visit, noting the stepped-up Russian attacks
send a message from Moscow that it has “no interest in a peaceful
solution at present,” according to German news agency dpa.
Pistorius underscored Germany’s intention to help Ukraine build its
own long-range missile systems and help it finance purchases of
homemade material. “The first systems should be available in the
coming months,” he said, adding that Germany will allocate about 9
billion euros ($10.3 billion) for supporting Ukraine this year.
“We are deeply convinced that it is the job of the Europeans … to
keep supporting Ukraine, and we want to lead the way and demonstrate
corresponding responsibility,” he added.
___
Associated Press journalists Vasilisa Stepanenko in the Chernihiv
region of Ukraine, Nicole Winfield in Rome and Geir Moulson in
Berlin contributed.
All contents © copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved |
